“The Financial Jigsaw” has been serialised here and now is replaced by this weekly “Letter from Great Britain.”
NOTE – If anyone would like an electronic copy of the complete book, I should be pleased to email a free PDF on request to: [email protected].
BOOK UPDATE:
I am pleased to report that a new hardcopy of my 220 page book, “The Financial Jigsaw” is now available for £25 GBP plus P&P in A4, workbook format, bound with clear plastic covers, printed locally on demand. Please email: [email protected] with your order, I will offer a quotation for shipping to your area, and please include your full postal address. TIP: Readers often work with the PDF in conjunction with the easy-to-read hardcopy for quick access to internet links and especially the footnotes.
In this week’s Letter I am supporting our freedom campaign in UK:
https://www.keepbritainfree.com/so/feNGGLn3C?cid=7632c9c2-8c23-49b2-b61e-95f43d928871#/main
“SO NOW WE KNOW! Sweden got it largely right and the British establishment [got it] catastrophically wrong. Anders Tegnell, Stockholm’s epidemiologist-king, has pulled off a remarkable triple whammy: far fewer deaths per capita than Britain, maintenance of basic freedoms and opportunities, including schooling, and, most strikingly, a recession less than half as severe as our own.
Our [own] arrogant quangocrats and state “experts” should hang their heads in shame: their reaction to coronavirus was one of the greatest public policy blunders in modern history, more severe even than Iraq, Afghanistan, and the financial crisis, Suez or the ERM fiasco. Millions will lose their jobs when furlough ends; tens of thousands of small businesses are failing; schooling is in chaos, with A-level grades all over the place; vast numbers are likely to die from untreated or undetected illnesses; and we have seen the first exodus of foreigners in years, with the labour market survey suggesting a decline in non-UK born adults….” The rest is behind the Telegraph paywall, but here is ZeroHedge on the case: (Please use: https://adblockplus.org/) to avoid those impossible ads on ZH)
“In a blow to hopes for a sustained recovery following UK government moves to ease the lockdown, the index, which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing, fell from 41.5 in July to 40.8 in August. A figure above 50 indicates an improvement in household finances. Last month the GfK consumer confidence barometer found that the fear of rising redundancies, the end of the furlough scheme in October and concerns about the health risks of high street shopping hit consumer confidence.
‘Markit’ said its latest snapshot signalled “a further, slightly sharper, deterioration in the financial situation of UK households”. It adds that the next few months were “just as gloomy” after households said they remained “highly pessimistic” about their financial wellbeing over the coming 12 months.” Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/17/household-finances-fell-sharper-in-august
Furthermore:” A separate report by the London School of Economics’ centre for economic performance found that official unemployment statistics were underreporting the number of people being made redundant or self-employed losing work.
A review of rising joblessness since February shows a decrease in employment between February and June of more than 15 percentage points. In contrast, official figures show unemployment as stable. “With hours worked only at 80% of the level from February, the picture is bleak – the UK economy is on track to suffer its biggest unemployment shock since at least the 1980s recession,” it said.”
The pandemic is causing extreme pain in many sectors of the global economies but few understand who or what is responsible. Just for starters; is the SARS-CoV2 Virus man-made? (That is the virus that causes the disease Covid 19). The official narrative is – No. But that explanation is beginning to wear thin. Renowned European scientist: “COVID-19 was engineered in China lab, effective vaccine ‘unlikely’”
More circumstantial evidence emerged this week when it was reported that Professor Giuseppe Tritto, an internationally known expert in biotechnology and nanotechnology, said that the China Virus definitely wasn’t a freak of nature that happened to cross the species barrier from bat to man: In other words, he said that it is man-made in a laboratory. Read more: https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/renowned-european-scientist-covid-19-was-engineered-in-china-lab-effective-vaccine-unlikely
Also Professor Nikolai Petrovsky — from Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia said: “There was no known animal host and almost perfect human adaption”: Top Australian vaccine scientist reveals how COVID-19’s unique structure means it’s either man-made – or a ‘complete fluke’ of nature: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8356751/How-COVID-19s-unique-structure-means-man-made.html
Additionally, the new Messenger Vaccine technology is the BIG worry because it has NEVER been used on a human population. Dr Mengele would be proud of our politicians!
Messenger Vaccines Explained: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-moderna-biontech-covid-shot/
Further, Medical Doctors & Scientists Who Dispute the Official Covid-19 Panic Narrative are continuing to discredit the governments’ status quo position: https://ahrp.org/medical-experts-who-dispute-the-official-coronavirus-panic-narrative/
AND BOOM Finance and Economics continues with further devastating news on the comparison between Influenza Death Numbers in 2017/2018 and Covid 19 Death Numbers in 2020 in Europe. Shock, horror they are the same (!). But no lockdowns, no masks, no media panic, no politicians running scared in 2017/2018 — when the death numbers were almost exactly the same. https://boomfinanceandeconomics.wordpress.com/2020/08/15/boom-as-at-16th-august-2020/
It is becoming increasingly apparent that a global coordinated attack on the general public has, and is, being perpetrated by person or persons or global actors unknown to pursue their own evil ends. Stay bright and alert as the evidence builds in the coming weeks and months.
Masks are back on the agenda as Boris stiffens the fines: People who repeatedly refuse to wear a face mask where it is required could face fines of up to £3,200, Boris Johnson announced as England’s lockdown will ease further on Saturday. He also announced that organisers of illegal raves could face a £10,000 penalty.
Currently, people who refuse to wear a face covering face a £100 fine, which can be reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. Under the new measures, those who break the rules will have their fines doubled for each subsequent offence, up to a maximum of £3,200.
Face coverings [diapers] are required in some places in England including public transport, shops and museums, with some exemptions for children or on medical grounds. A clampdown on illegal gatherings of more than 30 people could see those responsible hit with spot fines of up to £10,000, a No. 10 source indicated. Sweden’s top expert on the coronavirus has warned that encouraging people to wear face masks is “very dangerous” because it gives a false sense of security but does not effectively stem the spread of the virus. https://summit.news/2020/08/20/swedens-senior-epidemiologist-wearing-face-masks-is-very-dangerous/
Police chiefs have promised increased patrols to prevent unlicensed events following a spate of parties during the heatwave. The tougher enforcement measures come as the Prime Minister confirmed plans to open up more of the economy from Saturday, potentially adding to the risk of spreading coronavirus. The moves were postponed from August 1 due to concerns about a slight increase in the number of people in England testing positive but that now appears to have levelled off.
As from August 15:
- Indoor theatre, music and performance venues will be able to reopen with socially distanced audiences.
- The piloting of spectators at sporting events will resume, when a limited number of fans were allowed to watch the World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre over last weekend.
- Casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks and soft play centres will be allowed to reopen.
- “Close contact” beauty services such as facials, eyebrow threading and eyelash treatments will resume.
- Wedding receptions for up to 30 guests will be permitted.
- Pilots will take place at conference venues ahead of the expected resumption of business events from October 1 at the earliest.
The changes will not apply in the specific areas where local restrictions are in place.
Read more: https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18651476.people-flouting-face-mask-rules-face-fines-3-200/
Don’t be fooled – under Covid-19, the UK labour market is in crisis. Rishi Sunak knows it. Andrew Bailey at the BoE knows it. Every economic pundit knows it. The UK labour market is facing its grimmest period in decades. It is not a question of whether the dole queues will lengthen markedly, but by how much and when. A cursory glance at the latest data produced by the Office for National Statistics would suggest the outcome is not going to be all that bad.
Unemployment, on the internationally agreed measure, remains below 4%, and has barely budged since the arrival of Covid-19 earlier this year. Employment was down 220,000 between the first and second quarters of 2020, which doesn’t look that terrible given that the economy contracted by a fifth over the same period.
But don’t be fooled, because neither the chancellor nor the governor of the Bank of England is taken in by these encouraging-looking figures for a minute. The true state of the labour market has been veiled by two things. First, and most obviously, Sunak’s job retention scheme has meant millions of workers have been furloughed since March. In the absence of 80% wage subsidies, many of them would have been laid off.
Second, someone is counted as unemployed only if they are both out of work and seeking employment. There hasn’t been much point in looking for a job while the economy has been locked down, so people have been classified as inactive rather than jobless. The government’s alternative measure of unemployment – the claimant count – provides a better guide to what has been happening. It has doubled since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, and rose by 94,000 in July to stand at 2.7 million. Read more:
5,000 major firms have announced job losses this week alone. One of the biggest single blows was from Debenhams, with the struggling department store saying 2,500 roles would disappear as it shuts 19 stores. A spokesman for Debenhams said: “We have successfully reopened 124 stores, post-lockdown, and these are currently trading ahead of management expectations. At the same time, the trading environment is clearly a long way from returning to normal and we have to ensure our store costs are aligned with realistic expectations.”
But topping Debenhams, Marks & Spencer (M&S) reports a cut of 7,000 jobs over the next three months in a new round of redundancies as the retailer slashes costs and overhauls the way the business is run during the coronavirus pandemic. The job cuts, the majority of which are expected to affect women, will be made at its central London head office, in regional management and at its UK stores, adding to a swathe of high street job cuts in the UK as a result of the pandemic. Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/18/coronavirus-marks-spencer-to-cut-7000-jobs
As well as restaurants and shops, this week also saw hotels; banks; holiday firms and tourist attractions reveal job cuts. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that – between March and July – some 730,000 roles have vanished from companies’ payrolls. And it is feared worse is to come, with the UK officially entering the most severe recession on record and the furlough scheme being wound down.
Jeremy Thomson Cook, chief economist at currency firm Equals, said: “The end of the furlough scheme will present a cliff-edge, statistically and economically, for those currently relying on government support to make up their wages.” “Longer-term Government stimulus to create jobs is needed to ensure the gap between the end of the furlough scheme and a rise in unemployment is not larger than it needs to be.”
Now that UK has left EUROPE I will comment on relevant EU – UK events as they arise:
“The seventh round of Brexit negotiations is underway, as Brussels and London scramble to secure an agreement before the transition arrangement is set to end. As a result, No 10 has insisted that the government will continue to work at ways to “plug the gaps” in the potential deal, as disagreements between Britain and the EU still remain. Political commentator Bob Lister reflects on the UK-EU talks.”
Sputnik: How successful have negotiations been between the UK and the EU?
Bob Lister: I think what the EU needs to remember is that they need to trade with us more than we need to trade with them. There has always been a £79 billion trade deficit between what the EU sell to us and what the UK sells to them. However, with the downturn in the car trade, etc, that won’t be as great as that but it will still be significantly more than we trade with them. So, they actually need us more than we need them. We actually sell more medicines and drugs to the EU than they sell to us, so they don’t have any real issues that they can hit us with, so they really need our trade more than we need to trade with them. We’ve already found out that we are looking to trade with Australia and New Zealand, Canada and America potentially so we can, I believe, make up the trade that we may lose from the EU with other countries. Really, we just need to stand our ground. I do believe we’ve got the upper hand. Read more: https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202008181080207491-brexit-we-dont-want-any-eu-control-over-the-uk-says-commentator-/
David McAllister, the chair of the European Parliament’s UK Coordination Group, told German newspaper Börsen-Zeitung the EU had made “a unique and highly attractive offer to the UK that has never been made to a third country: quota-free and duty-free access for goods to the single market”. But he said in the interest of “fair competition” that the UK must accept the level playing field to progress in negotiations. Read More:
BUT: We are wasting valuable time says Barnier as Brexit agreement between UK and EU ‘seems unlikely’:https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/21/brexit-brussels-barnier-and-london-s-frost-conclude-latest-round-of-negotiations
To be continued next week.
A mask will Not prevent Karens from eventually catching CV-19 anyway; but taking HCQ when symptoms begin would save them. Karens are being made fools of themselves. TPTB denying the facts and denying patients HCQ (which is safe, effective and cheap) are Premeditated Murders, and if we don’t prosecute and jail them, we owe the Nazis’ Leadership an apology.
Quite so, rhs jr, and I have already ordered my HCQ with the help of Mark.
May not be as good an idea as many believe.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/three-big-studies-dim-hopes-hydroxychloroquine-can-treat-or-prevent-covid-19
Thanks for the warning Bob – much appreciated. I have a good friend in Oz who is a retired doctor and has followed this mess from the get-go. He says HCQ taken with zinc and green tea (an activator) will do the job if taken early enough.
I am certain that my wife had it in early January anyway and I suffered a heavy chest, dry cough but no pain for a month before Benylin (4 bottles) and LemSip saw it off. We are to be tested soon for antibodies so we will know for sure. Many of my family who were at the Xmas party suffered too – but no bad effects.
I remain out of breath sometimes and have a scheduled X-ray next week and possibly a CT scan doctor says.
I AGREE. THE TRUMP ADMIN HAVE LED THE WAY IN DEALING WITH THIS CHINESE VIRUS. MY GP NOT OFERING THIS VACCINE IS LITERALLY MURDERING PEOPLE. HELL WILL BE PAID.
I don’t think it can do any harm, Sampson, thank you – HCQ has been around for 60 years as Mark reported last week that he took it in Nam in the 1960s.